New War on Drugs: Grass Roots Movement or Political Construction?

• NCJ Number: 131859
• Journal: Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1991) Pages: 651-667
• Author(s): Jensen E L; J Gerber; G M Babcock
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Revised version of paper presented at the annual meeting of Society for the Study of Social Problems, Chicago, August 1987

Annotation

The 1986 War on Drugs is analyzed from the perspective of the constructionist approach to social problems.

Abstract

The extent to which the recently rediscovered drug abuse problem conforms to the pluralistically based model developed by Mauss, a framework that stipulates the development of public concern prior to governmental action, is examined in the period prior to 1986 elections. Self-reported data on drug use indicated the absence of an increase in the consumption of illicit drugs during recent years. For this reason together with the Mauss model, the creation of the drug problem is attributed to politicians. While searching for a safe issue, they took advantage of the public concern about drug abuse and promoted drugs as a social problem. A precipitating factor in this creation of a social problem was the media with its increased coverage of illicit drugs between 1978 and 1986. Further support for this contention is found in the fact that public concern over the issue as measured by public opinion polls escalated after politicians promoted it. Based on this study and others, the following revisions of incipiency, coalescents, creation, and policy formation and legitimization are proposed for the Mauss model to accommodate the construction of social problems by State officials. 3 tables and 50 references (Author abstract modified)